Philanthropia and the Physician: Origen's Medical Defence of Christianity in the Contra Celsum

Abstract

Medical metaphors abound in late antique Christian discourse, whether in the context of catechetical instruction or spiritual direction. They also played an important role in polemical confrontations between theological adversaries, as was the case in Origen of Alexandria's Contra Celsum. This article examines Origen's reception and appropriation of ancient medical learning in his mature apologetic work. By showing how the Alexandrian places clear limits on his own metaphors, I demonstrate that his usage of such concepts is crucial to his defence of the Christian position. The first section of the study focuses on Origen's treatment of the incarnation through a medical lens and his identification of relevant points of similarity and dissimilarity between Christ and the physician. In foregrounding philanthropia as a foundational virtue in the practice of medicine and in the incarnation, he challenges Celsus's identification of mercy with weakness and reframes compassion as a sign of virtue and competence. The second section examines Origen's discussion of the dynamic process of salvation, which he relates to the process of physical healing with the help of carefully chosen metaphors. Here, the characteristic techniques of Christian healing which Celsus maligns are shown to operate on principles similar to those governing medical treatments. In each instance, Origen's familiarity with and precision in employing medical concepts underscores the depth of his engagement with the discipline, whether in its speculative or practical dimensions. The nature of this engagement sheds light on the apologetic acuity of the Contra Celsum, which uses ancient medicine to defend the credibility of the Christian faith against the accusations of a learned interlocutor. It also suggests that scholars can benefit from attending more closely to the ways in which patristic authors delineated and qualified their own metaphors in constructing and communicating doctrine.